Abe Schachter

August 10, 1999

Abe Schachter, 84, a former longtime North Side resident and a retired president of Schachter's Mutual Baking Co., died Saturday at the Sunrise Health and Rehabilitation Center in Sunrise, Fla. Mr. Schachter and his wife, Resea, moved to Florida in 1963 after selling the baking company, which his family had run for more than 70 years. Born in Chicago, Mr. Schachter grew up on the Northwest Side. He graduated from Tuley High School, where he played on the basketball team. After graduation, he joined his father at the baking company, which his family started on North Western Avenue. "He delivered, he baked, he ran the offices, he did everything," said his son Jeff. At its height, the company was one of the city's premier Jewish bakers and had a dozen delivery trucks and more than 40 employees, family members said. The company also supplied dinner rolls for airplanes at O'Hare International Airport. Known for its slogan, "The bread for every spread," the company thrived for many years at 3742 N. Elston Ave. under Mr. Schachter's leadership. "My father was the originator of aluminum body bakery trucks in the city," Jeff Schachter said. "He was a man way ahead of his time." In addition to his son and wife, Mr. Schachter is survived by a daughter, Beth Burrows; two grandchildren; and two great grandchildren. A service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Piser Original Weinstein Chapel, 3019 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago.